Minnesotans like their state; but you won't catch them bragging about it

Minnesotans say their state is one of the top places to live in the U.S., according to a new Gallup poll. But not necessarily the single best state to be in.

The poll asked at least 600 residents of each state to categorize their territory as one of the following: the best possible state to live in; one of the best possible states to live in; as good a state as any to live in; or the worst possible state to live in.

In Minnesota, 61 percent of residents said it's either the best or one of the best possible states to live in. That places it 12th overall in that category, tied with Oregon and Vermont. (Montana and Alaska led that category, each picking up 77 percent.)

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Narrow it down to only "My state is the best possible state to live in," and 13 percent of Minnesotans responded that way. That still ties California, New Hampshire and Oregon for 11th overall in that ranking, but shows a divide between the feeling "We really like our state," and the more-aggressive approach of, "Our state is great and everyone else should know about it."

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By the way, Texans said their state was the best possible place to live than residents of any other state, with 28 percent.

There's a another side to the poll though: It also asked residents if their state was the worst possible to state to live in. Only 2 percent of Minnesotans responded that way. Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire and Wyoming were the only states to have a lower percentage.

The state that dominated the worst possible place category? Illinois. A quarter of the Land of Lincoln's residents said it was the worst possible state to live in. That's way above the next-most self-loathing states, Connecticut and Rhode Island at 17 percent. Gallup attributes Illinois' high (or, arguably, low) ranking in that category to the state's high taxes, and high-profile political scandals that have caused a deep distrust in government.

The Huffington Post put together some helpful maps to visualize the rankings (click to enlarge).

If you go by some other recent polls, it's not surprising Minnesota did well in the Gallup rankings.